Hey Little Bump
by quillsand
Summary: The world is always darker when Ron's not by her side, but with a baby on the way, Hermione struggles to cope in his absence.


_A/N: This was written for the tumblr anon who sent me the amazing prompt: "_ _Ron coming home from an auror mission while Hermione is pregnant and he talks to the baby while he thinks that Hermione is asleep but she actually hears everything."_

 _Special thanks to that anon! I tried to explore Ron's character a reasonable amount in this too. I'm always a sucker for Romione fluff ^-^_

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Their room is colder when he's away. Dark shadows and shapes seem to cover everything, giving the impression of a distinct emptiness. The silence is almost paralysing, the only sound being the steady rate of her breathing as she struggles to ease her apprehensive mind into rest.

Hermione's never been an easy sleeper. Even when she was little, she'd be woken up by the sound of gentle footsteps coming up the stairs, or the light pattering of rain on her window. It used to be something that had concerned her parents, how light she slept.

Of course, the war did nothing to help. Being in a tent for months and running for your lives kind of demanded you to be alert every second. Even Ron, who used to be able to sleep through anything would've woken at the slightest shift in the wind, wand out and ready.

It's sad really, when she thinks about it- how young they were deprived of their innocence.

She tries not to think about it.

Hermione is used to sleepless nights, and she's used to lying for hours trying to fade into slumber. She knows that sleep doesn't come easy- even more so on nights like tonight.

Turning on her side to stare at Ron's empty side of the bed, she tries once more to find a comfortable position. The ache in her chest seems to intensify at the absence of her husband's sleeping form, the worry building up until she can hardly bear it. She sighs and rests one hand on her abdomen, stroking the small bump that rests there. If anything is going to soothe her nerves it will definitely be the thought of the tiny life growing inside of her. Life that her and Ron created.

The slight smile that begins to form on her lips is interrupted by a grimace as another wave of discomfort causes her arm to cramp up beneath her weight. Grumbling, Hermione turns on her back and resigns herself to staring at the ceiling until sleep falls upon her.

She's counting the roof tiles when the sound of a door opening makes her freeze, the number forty one already drifting away in her brain.

It must be Ron back early. It must be because no one else knows how to break the enchantments- save for Harry and Ginny, of course. Her thoughts are confirmed when she hears a voice, unmistakably belonging to Ron, whisper the spell to re-set the wards protecting their small flat.

There's a tiny 'thud' as Ron's boots hit the floor, followed by the sound of his soft footprints towards their bedroom. When she hears the door squeak open, she closes her eyes again and pretends to be asleep.

It worries him- that she can't sleep when he's away. If there's one thing Hermione definitely wants to avoid, it's worrying him (especially after a long mission.) Besides, she's perfectly fine, just a little uncomfortable- and that's hardly anything to make a fuss over.

She can sense more than hear his presence as he changes out of his work clothes; the room somehow seems warmer, embracing. Ever so slightly, she feels the covers of the bed lift, and the cold that rushes in is immediately replaced by the heat of Ron's body. She smiles.

One of the things that makes her heart melt above all else is Ron's thoughtfulness and consideration. Even now, at a time when it doesn't really matter, she knows he takes extra care not to wake her. Tears start to well up behind her closed eyelids when she feels a gentle pressure on her forehead, Ron's lips kissing her in the same spot they always do before the two of them settle into slumber.

Trying to lay still and fighting to maintain a neutral expression, Hermione feels the lightness of his touch as he brushes a stray strand of hair from her face. He moves away and it takes all of her willpower not to pull him back to her. Instead, she finds the tender weight of his hand just below her stomach, resting on the small bump that's been causing her so much grief up until now.

Resisting the urge to tangle her fingers in his soft hair, she almost startles at the sound of his voice, quiet and scratchy from overuse.

"Hey Little Bump," he whispers, and Hermione's chest swells with happiness upon hearing the affectionate name they'd adopted at the start of her pregnancy. "So I guess you let your mum get some rest tonight, huh? Merlin knows she deserves it, working herself like she does and carrying you around with her. Pretty impressive, right?"

She feels her cheeks heat up and immediately knows she's lost this fight. Tears are already falling down her cheeks as she hears Ron speak to their child with such love and care in his hushed tones.

"You're gonna love her, Little Bump. Your mum, I mean. She'll be a great mother, even if she worries she won't be. As for me- well, I don't really know much about being a dad. I don't know if I'll be very good at feeding you and changing you and the works- but I'll try my best. And I'll love you so much, Little Bump. You have no idea how much me and your mum already do, and we haven't even met you yet!"

Hermione feels the warm traces of tears as they run down her face, biting her lip to trap the sobs from escaping.

"And we'll always love you, no matter what," Ron continues, "We might not be the best at the whole parenting business at the start, but we'll work it out, okay? I promise you, Little Bump, we'll always be there for you. I know I'm away a lot now, but that's all going to change before you're born, so don't worry. I checked at the office today and- your mum doesn't know this, mind, it's still early stages- but everything's worked out for if I choose to resign. And George's offered me a full time position at the shop so that way I could-"

An uncontainable sob manages to wrestle it's way out of her mouth and Ron is next to her so fast she's not even sure she saw him move.

He looks upon her with a concern that seems to be ingrained upon his face. "Hey, hey, it's okay. What's wrong? Did I wake you? Are you having a nightmare?" Ron's rapid fire questions wash over her as he securely wraps an arm around her shoulders and cuddles her closer to him. "Are you okay?"

She tries to nod but another sob racks her body as she leans further into his. "I'm fine," she says after a moment, composure slightly regained. Then, after a pause. "You didn't wake me."

She waits for the realization that she'd heard everything to hit him. It does, gradually, as his features change from worry to comprehension.

"Oh."

Finding his hand, Hermione threads their fingers together and squeezes. "I had no idea." She whispers, head on his shoulder.

"I was going to tell you next week. Over dinner, you know? I had a special meal planned and everything."

"You mean you were going to order from a takeaway?"

"That's what I said- I had a special meal planned and everything."

Hermione laughs, which causes more tears to fall to her cheeks. "You don't have to, you know. I'll be okay."

Now it's Ron's turn to smile. "Hermione, love, it's three a.m and you're still awake."

"I know, but I don't want you to give up something you enjoy doing. You'd never ask me to give up my work."

"No, I wouldn't. But you're not asking me to give it up, Hermione, it was my idea. And if you don't like it, or if… If it's going to cause problems with money then I'll stay, of cou-"

"It's not," she interrupts, reminded of how Ron grew up with nothing and not wanting him to feel that the same would happen to their child. "There's no issue with money I just… I thought you liked being an Auror."

"It has it's perks," Ron replies, smiling down at her. Something tells her to wait, that he's not done yet, and sure enough: "I don't know, I've just been feeling for a while now that it's not really… What I want to do. Permanently, that is. There's a lot of risk involved and… Bloody hell I worry enough about you as it is, but we're going to have a _child_ soon and I… I want to be around more, you know? For both of you."

All she can do is nod as he cups her face in the hand that isn't holding hers and tilts her chin so their eyes meet. "I just… I don't really need it anymore. I feel like I've done everything there was for me to do, in a way. And it's silly but… I feel like I've proven myself. Like I don't _need_ to be an Auror anymore. It was fun, yeah, and I felt good that I was, y'know, helping people, but it's just not… It's not as important to me as it once was." Ron takes a deep breath in and smiles at her through watery blue eyes. "But having a family- that is important to me."

The scale of it hits her before she has time to prepare herself.

He'd never have to be gone for unconfirmed amounts of time again. She'd never have to lie awake at ungodly hours in the morning worrying about his safety. And, perhaps most importantly, he'd still be as happy- if not happier- working with his brother as he would be working as an Auror.

Eyes filling with tears again, Hermione buries her face into his neck as his hand drops down to rub circles on her back.

It's three a.m and she's tired yet elated both at once. They're going to have a a child soon. They're going to have a child and she's going to be a mother and Ron's going to be a father and they're going to be a _family_. It's almost too much for her exhausted mind to take and she slumps against his supporting frame as tiredness consumes her.

"Okay then, I think that means it's time for bed." Ron chuckles, sliding down until they're laying next to each other. "We'll talk more tomorrow, yeah? After we've had time for a really, really, really, long lie in, that is. I've got about ten hours of sleep to regain."

Hermione nods, humming in agreement. After spending the past few nights doing seemingly everything _other_ than sleeping, nothing sounds better than spending the majority of the day in bed. (She sends a silent prayer out for the fact that she doesn't have to go in to her office tomorrow- or today, rather.)

They're just settling when another thought occurs to Hermione.

"Did you mean all the stuff you said when you were talking to Little Bump?" she asks quietly.

Ron looks almost startled. "Of course I did. I mean- I know parenthood isn't going to be a walk in the park, but we'll be okay once we get going."

"And you really think I'll be a good mum?"

Ron smiles, leaning over to plant another kiss on her forehead.

"I know you will, love."

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 _A/N(2): Thanks for reading ! Any reviews/comments are much appreciated ^-^_


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